University of Minnesota Morris Athletics

ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris football team defeated Crown College, 28-14, in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play Saturday afternoon in St. Bonifacius, Minn.
 
Midway through the first quarter, the Polars fumbled the ball in their own territory, and Logan Ahlers recovered it, setting up the UMM offense at the Crown 38-yard line. Facing a fourth-and-one, Bryson Drake found Jacob Wilmes over the middle for a 29-yard touchdown to open the scoring.
 
In the second quarter, Minnesota Morris started a drive at the Crown 48-yard line following a 19-yard punt by the Polars. Sean-Keley Chinanga had a 23-yard rush followed by an 11-yard run to set UMM up at the 10-yard line. Drake threw his second touchdown pass of the game, this time to Brody Kircher, and Ahlers made the extra point to give the Cougars a 14-0 lead.
 
On the following drive, Trajan Isaac had a 13-yard run, and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved UMM to the Crown 32-yard line. The Cougars continued to find success in the ground game, getting Minnesota Morris back to the Crown 10-yard line. After a holding penalty pushed the Cougars back to the 20, Drake still found Trent Roden for the touchdown.
 
The Polars got the ball with one minute remaining in the half. On the final play, Juan "JT" Garza III intercepted a pass, ending the half with the Cougars ahead 21-0.
 
Late in the third quarter, Garza came up with his second interception of the game to set up the Cougars inside the Polars' 25-yard line. It took just one play for UMM to find the end zone after the turnover, as Drake rushed for a 24-yard touchdown.
 
The Polars added a pair of touchdowns in the final quarter, but it was not enough as the Cougars secured the 28-14 win.
 
Drake led the offense with 94 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, 97 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. Chinanga followed Drake on the ground with 79 yards, while Wilmes had a team-high 48 receiving yards.
 
Defensively, Arian Saenz led the team with 12 tackles, followed by Derrick Dohmen with 11. The Cougars recorded two sacks, with Jesse Davies Jr. recording one and Saenz and Dohmen combining for the other. Garza made a major impact with two interceptions, returning them for a total of 29 yards.
 
The Cougars wrap up the season next week as they host the University of Northwestern on Saturday at 1 p.m.